A word about halos

For anyone that has clicked through to the “Israel Gallery” you may have noticed that there appears to be a halo above the woman’s head in picture 4. Several people have asked me if this is real or not. To answer the question, yes it’s real. Or, at least it’s a real reflection in the water that formed in one frame. Could it be a halo?

The confluence of circumstances (being baptised in the Jordan River, the white robe and upturned faced) may cause some viewers to fill in the blanks with their own story. But if the woman had been harvesting fresh water mussels I doubt anyone would have perceived the reflection as a halo. As story-driven animals we often see what we want to see…whether it is actually there or not.

And (fill in the deity of your choice) forbid, if the halo was merely a little Photoshop cloning tool work. One minute it’s a potato chip shaped like the Virgin Mary and the next, photo fibbery.

This is the long answer to the question. What you see in the halo shot is pretty much straight out of the camera.